Who all here is running a solid roller in a LT1? I'm thinking about going with one in my 383 im building but just want to know the pros/cons of running one.

FYI, the car only gets driven 2-3000 miles a year

 

Pros- Instant torque makes for great driveablity, tame idle for the cam profile, power all the way throughout the entire rpm band until fuel cutoff (as long as you have a quality ported cylinder head).

Cons- More-than-normal valvetrain noise (some may think it's a con, I think it's a pro), more expensive to build and maintain (if you are going to run this on the street you MUST purchase a quality valvetrain parts like the CC Endure-X or Isky RedZone lifters. It is also possible the lifters and rockers will need to be rebuilt sooner than a hyd. application. Springs need to be tested and possibly replaced more often.), Depending on the cam profile the rpm shift points may be limited to the PCM's ability to process data past 7200rpm, more frequent valve adjustment, no chance in hell of passing any kind of sniffer test (of course there are many factors like how lax the inspection/emissions station is).

I've had my setup for 2 years now and absolutely love it, however my car is a weekend car. I would not do this kind of setup on a daily.

 

Well that is exactly what my car is, a weekend car. I may make the occasional trip to KC which is about 2 hrs away and I may try to take it back home once a year (6 hr trip). I have no problem adjusting things from time to time and since I don't drive the car often I will probably only need to replace the springs every 5 years or so.

I 'm just leaning towards this because I want a big healthy cam that just sounds mean and I would like to make 500 RWHP on motor only.

 

I say go for it! You just have to check the valvetrain more often, such as readjusting the valve lash after x number of miles.

 

I would do it then. Once again though, w/out a shadow of a doubt do not skimp on the lifters. The ones I listed are in the $500 range, but from what I understand they are the only mechanical roller lifters which contain extra oil ports for the cam lobes to aid in lubrication at low rpm levels.
I don't know about the CC lifters, but I did experience a drop in overall oil pressure because of these extra ports. I was told it would be alright (10psi drop across the board), but I went ahead and used oil restricting pushrods to bump the pressure back up.

 

Well I just found out that the guy that I bought the motor from has a cam and lifters that he was going to put in the motor before he sold it to me. Both are brand new.

Cam

Bullet Race Cam
258/266 @.050
.638/.638 on a 106 LSA

And the lifters are Lunati SR lifters

How does that setup sound?

 

I'd be a little leary about where the power peak of that cam would be. Would also study up on those lifters to see if they are compatible for street use.

 

Better have either a FAST or LS1 PCM to run the RPMs that cam will want to run. SR is the way to go, IMO, but it also costs a good bit more.

 

also, you say you want a healthy sounding cam... a SR sounds tame in contrast to its size. I had a 250/256 SR and it almost sounded stock next to the GM 847 cam. Not trying to convince to sway away from SR just letting you know they sound wimpy in contrast with their performance.

 

you will also want a decent set of roller rockers with girdle or shaft mount rockers.

 

to effectively use a high revving solid roller setup you'll need some nice quality heads to compliment them, something that flows very well into the .650+ range

 

Solid roller does NOT automatically mean highrevving high peak power.

That cam looks ok, the tight LSA will make it peak sooner. Will make it tougher to tune in the idle, slow speed side of things.

I got a solid roller with stock ECM and opti, my car peaks around 6500(ish) Will see if I can find my dyno sheet.

 

What are the specs on your cam?

 

mine peaks at 6500 or so with a solid roller I shift it at 6500

 

254/254@.050

670/640 108 LSA

Moderate cam by todays standards....I thought it was big until I went on another board and read about guys running 290@050 700+ lift cams ON THE STREET.

 

Here are some things you need to know about a solid roller,

Keep the oil changed, I change mine every 1000 miles and run Shell Rotella 15-40 for the additive package thats in it. Also use the long K&N filter 3002 I think is the part number. Cams like these have a good bit of overlap and causes some fuel washdown of the oil.

Use a pressurized solid roller lifter, I run the Comp Endurex. Other companies make nice ones also.

Make sure you set it up to have 30+psi of oil pressure at idle hot.

DO NOT SKIMP ON VALVES, SPRINGS, LOCKS, RETAINERS OR ROCKER ARMS.... buy the good stuff, do it once and have good valvetrain life.

There is 6000 miles on my setup with no issues at all.

 

The valvetrain required to support that sounds like big $$$.

 

Ut oh... I guess my crap is going to blow up since it's only a measly 20psi at hot idle.

 

exactly why I'll be sticking to bitch *** hydralic roller unless I win the lotto or something

 

You can use the same rockers as a hyd. setup. The CC pro mags or HiTechs would work just fine. I'm using Crane Golds on mine. Any name brand valvetrain component regarding springs/locks/retainers will work fine. The only thing different is the spring pressure, mechanical lifter and definitely a chormoly pushrod for the street. As stated though the the lifters and rockers may need attention sooner than that of a hyd. setup.